Jessica Simpson angered some Native American groups when she told us earlier this week she wasn't an Indian giver - after we asked her if she would take back a boat she bought ex-BF Tony Romo as a gift.

Why would this be offensive to Native Americans? Isn't it derrogeratory to the white treaties that were broken? They gave them lands and took them back? Just a painful reminder?

Another off color saying from NY was to "JAP" out of something. To bail out of something. I doubt this refers to the Japanese. Is it jewish american princess? A long island girl reference?

Indian giver doesn't refer to whites and our constant fucking over though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_giver

My understanding of it was twofold, one that Native Americans (depending on tribe) had different cultural concepts, so there was miscommunication. When such agreements broke down, "Indians" were blamed.

It's also the source of 'gyp', to be 'gypped' or cheated of value. Again, Roma have different concepts of ownership and what can and cannot be owned. Additionally in many countries when Roma were ill treated and cheated (the bands would often caravan into an area and perform labor, repairs, etc. and the townspeople would often pay them little or cheat them because what could they do?) the 'gypsies' or Roma as most prefer to be called would simply steal to make up the difference. What they would steal though was rarely money or goods, but livestock...food.

Anyway it's ironic that the groups that did the fucking over labeled the behavior onto the groups that they fucked.

As far as JAP goes, it was used as a slur in WWII. It's an abbreviation for Japanese, but was often used nastily so that the term itself became a slur. NIP is also an abbreviation for Nippon (I think it's spelled that way) which was that Japanese word for their country. Again, used so nastily that the abbv. itself became a slur.

JAP as Jewish American Princess is also considered a slur...though most people I know who use it do not use it that way, nor do I know people who take it as a slur from those people. Same with WASP. /shrug But I'm sure there are people who use it nastily.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_princess

Just one more thing, 'gyp' is commonly used on the east coast, or at least I've heard it there *a lot* (along with nasty slurs about tinkers or Irish travelers heh). 'Indian giver' was a term I heard in the south. I'm sure neither is exclusive to either region...but it's where I heard it used so commonly people would have been taken aback had you called attention to it being offensive.

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People need to lighten the fuck up. It would have been different if Tony Romo was native american (and that's a stretch) but jesus christ talk about out of context.

I see this all the time on some transgender forums where the activists get all up in arms over some celebrity mentioning anything trans. It is so ridiculous. Why do there have to be consequences about every thing someone says? Soon we won't be able to speak in more than 3 word sentences.

I'll stretch it to four this time for the people bitching about this.

Shut the fuck up.

By the etymology given there the term was used to offend both sides. It's not an innocent term and probably a bad move to issue in a public statement like she did, but I personally am not offended by it.

Just like that wimmenz rights group didn't like David Letterman's comments on Palin/her daughter, it comes as no surprise that a Native American group is offended by that. It's the entire reason to have a group like that, to be offended by shit.

I wouldn't be all up in arms about it, but I can understand if someone in that group is. I mean...I get annoyed when generalities are made about gamers, I can't imagine being part of a group continually fucked over and marginalized...

...oh wait of course I can, I'm a woman. Though thankfully that shit has gotten a lot better in my lifetime like most of you probably wouldn't believe. I can't imagine how women the generation before mine and beyond dealt with that shit which had to be much, much worse.

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Hmm you know I never thought about the word gypped before. It was used a LOT in Ohio. It's never even caused my mind that it was associated with a slur. Gyp = gypsy? Still unsure.

IS used**
Crossed my mind**

Aren't posts like this rather ironic? :p

Geez, man, don't you watch House? That episode wasn't the greatest, mind you, but still more entertaining than most of the shit on TV.

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Yeah gyp = gypsy. And even the term 'gypsy' isn't a positive one, most prefer Roma. I never knew it was even spelled 'gyp', I thought it was jipped, and never knew it was a slur until my late teens/early 20s. I think most people use it and other terms as a common word, never knowing or if they know not thinking about the 'slur' portion. I try not to use it because I can see how it would be offensive.

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Instead of Indain giver just say, the sort of person that gives something then takes it back, it rolls off the tongue nicely. In central Mn we used gyped and jewed out of something, along with kype, not sure the origon of that. I didn't know what they were referencing until I was much older. This thread reminded me to look up Jerry-rigged or jury rigged. We used them interchangably, guess that was wrong.

When I was a kid, dildo and douche were also used as insults. I know I was past a freshman in HS before I knew what a dildo was, because a senor girl was bitching to me how her big white car with the license plate 'dildo' (I'm sure it was some variation with a number 1 or something in there) wasn't allowed to be parked on the campus of our catholic school. I was truly indignant, I mean....it was just a childish word, right?

I also vividly recall my mother trying to get me to stop using the word douchebag without telling me what it meant, and relying on ye olde 'because I said so'.

Ah if only the internet had existed back then. I still recall googling the word 'Bukkake', THANK YOU EVERQUEST GUILD CHAT

/weep

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haha me too :p

The "Facial" comment said when someone is wrong on a topic... still baffles me. Other than the obv sexual meaning it never made much sense in the way it was used.

There are more derogatory ways to rig something.

"Hand me the nigger socket set." was one I heard a lot.

Isn't it a basketball reference, not a sexual reference?

I always took the term "japped" to refer to a sneaky attack of sorts in reference to the attack on Pearl Harbor coming "out of the sun".

I also always thought it was jipped and never even considered gypped. Interesting shit.

How about Welsh as in welshing on a bet

Redneck

Hillbilly

California Blonde

Trailer park trash

Nebraska Furniture Mart sells White trash particle board furniture.

I always wondered at the people that use mouthbreather as a slur as if it had some relation to intelligence instead of sinus structure.